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Klarna changes its AI tune and again recruits humans for customer service

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Re: Klarna changes its AI tune and again recruits humans for customer service

#61

Post by okanat »

aerhardt wrote: post #23

I whole-heartedly believe in free markets, but at the same time, fuck everything about the circus clown show that is modern techno-capitalism.

Our system isn't a free market. With 95 years of corporate copyright you'll have no free market. Neither with 20 years of patents. China probably has freer markets than West now, because since 1950s the West is constantly siding with mono/oligopolies that are against free market. The origins of capitalism is against free market. Neither Britain nor the Netherlands got their capitalism head-start because they let their companies to fairly fight. They created monopolies to terrorize, genocide, and impoverish people.

Startup ecosystem is against free market. YC is against free market. They want the startups to grow at the cost of everything else and buy out all their competition. There is no fair competition nor free market there.

Re: Klarna changes its AI tune and again recruits humans for customer service

#62

Post by cosmicgadget »

AznHisoka wrote: post #60
cosmicgadget wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I liked your comment but don't think the shot at media was necessary. A company replacing workers is news enough and the fact checking need only be to validate that information. The "as good as 700 workers" I assume was presented as a claim, not a fact. Evaluating the effectiveness of the AI bot is another matter and firmly in the investigative journalism sphere. Coincidentally that is an awesome application of a blo…

Sorry, but its attitudes like yours that make it easy for media to keep spouting out ridiculous claims/lies, and get away with it. Shots are absolutely necessary when its warranted. Full. Stop.

Am I allowed to respond once you've used "full. stop."?

Re: Klarna changes its AI tune and again recruits humans for customer service

#63

Post by AznHisoka »

iamsanteri wrote: post #48

Even here people don’t seem to realize, or even consider the likely fact that Klarna CEO has been bullsh**ing all along. I read a hugely viral post of them replacing their entire CRM with AI. It’s ridiculous to me people took that seriously!

Absolutely, people need to assume everything they read in media is wrong, then find evidence to prove otherwise. Klarna replaced their CRM with AI? Good. Its absolutely false until I find enough evidence going forward that its true

Re: Klarna changes its AI tune and again recruits humans for customer service

#64

Post by Avicebron »

rchaud wrote: post #53
spaceman_2020 wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't believe it takes b-school professors to figure out that people financing their DoorDash might not be the best people to lend money to.

This is the primary positioning tactic used across the startup industry . Uber isn't a taxi app, it's actually the "future front end for millions to access autonomous transport". Doordash isn't a delivery app, it's an "on-demand logistics" platform. Similarly, Klarna isn't a shady payday loan company, it's an "AI-first consumer finance play".

> "AI-first consumer finance play"

In a more civilized time, saying this was your plan would get you chucked feet-first into a wood chipper.

Re: Klarna changes its AI tune and again recruits humans for customer service

#65

Post by DanielHB »

torben-friis wrote: post #55

I went through klarna’s interview process some time ago. I had to go through both reasonable and weird steps, including IQ tests for some reason. I passed them all, and then I was ghosted, and upon reaching out I was met with months of excuses asking me to wait (the recruiter is on vacation, we’re waiting for the new budget to be approved, “I personally forgot to reply”, and a few others). I eventually stopped reachi…

Yes they are, a few years ago once got a scuffle with the Swedish tax agency because they were abusing some tax loopholes. The tax agency came in with the bill and they just immediately "layoff" 90% of the contractors working there (a good chunk of the workforce). All so their quarterly statements wouldn't look bad for the stock market.

Klarna is the prime example of toxic public companies

Re: Klarna changes its AI tune and again recruits humans for customer service

#66

Post by ericmay »

Freak_NL wrote: post #45
nikanj wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shopkeepers do want it, because it expands their market from those with funds to also those without. Klarna carries the lending risks, for the shopkeeps it’s a risk-free customer base

In the Netherlands no less than twenty trade associations sent letters to the government on behalf of their shopkeeper members urging legal action to prevent Klarna from coming. Part of it is that Klarna is fairly expensive compared to the common payment methods (i.e., cash and debit cards). Klarna charges a whopping 4% of the purchase price, whereas using a debit card (perhaps 95% of payments in physical shops) cost…

> But there is also the realisation that a customer who uses BNPL today, won't be coming back next month when they are paying off their loan.

I don’t think that’s a good argument. For shops and customers that utilize BNPL you are not typically making routine purchases at the shop anyway because the minimums are $50 or more (merchants can negotiate those terms with the provider) but the base tends to be around $50.

If you buy a bicycle using BNPL you’re not like coming back to the shop the next month and buying a new bike again.

BNPL increases sales and merchants really like using it which is why they are signing up for it more and more. Basically the increase in cost is worth it to increase sales.

There may be some bad social dynamics, taking out loans, etc. but generally both merchants and customers like using those products which is why they use them.

Re: Klarna changes its AI tune and again recruits humans for customer service

#67

Post by mystraline »

lukan wrote: post #54
mystraline wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go hack and read Marx and Engels, and also study Ned Ludd and Luddism/luddites. There is NOTHING special about current technology in application of capitalism. Its always been exploitive, and grinds people into used and nearly dead objects. The answer isn't reforming capitalism, either. FDR tried, and we're back to the Black Friday set of events... But in this case, we're even worse off with alienation of basically e…

So .. your answer is to try socialism again? Were there any major updates to the agenda, since it was tried the last time? If not, why expect a different outcome next time?

Go actually study what's going on in China, rather than eating up all the US propaganda.

What they're doing in tech innovation is astonishing. And you can look at even just something like high speed rail, and its amazing. They're also connecting western Europe as well to the rail system. Look up Belt and Road initiative.

They're also on the forefront in green/clean tech. And thorium reactors. Oh, and fusion.

I'd say their 'try' is doing damned well. Its certainly blowing the USA out of the water. Well, unless you count number of homeless. We're beating them handedly there.

Re: Klarna changes its AI tune and again recruits humans for customer service

#68

Post by firefoxd »

I spoke about this before [0]. As engineer number one in a startup that specialized in customer service automation, I can see how they were fooled by an upward trend. The problem is the arrow plateaus at ~40%.

Even humans cannot handle all requests because some don't make sense or are unrealistic. But at least a human can make that judgement and be held accountable for their decisions. I'm baffled when companies makes such drastic decisions, I'm pretty sure if they had asked (they probably did and ignored them) their AI team, they would have advised against firing their agents.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43880490

Re: Klarna changes its AI tune and again recruits humans for customer service

#70

Post by lukan »

mystraline wrote: post #67
lukan wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So .. your answer is to try socialism again? Were there any major updates to the agenda, since it was tried the last time? If not, why expect a different outcome next time?

Go actually study what's going on in China, rather than eating up all the US propaganda. What they're doing in tech innovation is astonishing. And you can look at even just something like high speed rail, and its amazing. They're also connecting western Europe as well to the rail system. Look up Belt and Road initiative. They're also on the forefront in green/clean tech. And thorium reactors. Oh, and fusion. I'd say…

Oh, you count china as socialism?

I rather meant the more traditional approaches, like the one I was born into that fell apart. China as of now is rather state capitalism to me.

And yes, they are quite effective in some areas. Totalitarism can be. Doesn't mean I would like to copy them.

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